Netflix is live in Australia and what you instantly realise is that we as consumers have been missing out for a very long time.
The Foxtel dominance, is over except for sport.
Gone is having to make a call and then having to wait days if not weeks for a set top box to be installed.
Gone is having to pay over $100 for premium content.
Gone are the days of having to put up with a box and a user interface that is well past its use by date. Gone is being conned into paying extra for Full HD content when both the content and the TV you’re watching Foxtel on is Full HD enabled.
Today, March 24th 2015 will go down in history as the day that Netflix unleashed a seriously good entertainment service that I got up and running via my PC, tablet and a Fetch TV box in seconds.
The only let down was the service was not up and running as promised on my Panasonic 4K TV.
All I had to do to get access to a sea of content was go to my PC create an account, and pay using a credit card or via Pay Pal.
You had three options, you can choose a single stream standard definition plan for $8.99, a two-stream high-definition plan for $11.99 or a four-stream 4K ultra-high definition “family” plan for $14.99.
I chose the $14.99 plan as I wanted to get access to content in 4K though I may regret this as I am a Telstra broadband customer and they are not offering unlimited broadband.
As soon as my account was approved I was prompted to log in three other users names. I was asked whether any of the names I was entering were kids.
I was also asked to identify three movies or TV shows from a list so that Netflix could start structuring my preferences.
The process took seconds.
I then logged into a Fetch TV box opened the Netflix service and logged in my username and password
What you get access to over 1100 titles including 693 unique shows including some which aren’t available on the US Netflix.
For more than 20 years I have been a Foxtel customer and the first thing you notice about the Netflix service is the ease with which you can access content.
No more trying to work out what category content is in, no more orange and white menu’s instead what you get is a very clean set of images that clearly define the content.
You can also search by categories, for example if you like crime movies you can sub search via British Crime series or US crime series.
You can vertical scroll or horizontally scroll through the vast content library.
After using the US service in the past I realised that Netflix has introduced new way to scroll that’s called ‘bookmarklet’.
Instead of having to grapple with a long, slow scrollable list of titles, you can now see all the titles in a category by vertical scrolling, but you do have to set this up in your browser.
All you do is go to your favourites or bookmarks section in your browser, I am using a Chrome browser.
You then enable the toolbar by right-clicking the empty area at the top of your browser and selecting the option or checkmark to Show bookmarks.
In Internet Explorer the worlds Favourites Bar is used to make the changes.
You then go to the page that contains the bookmarklet.
You’ll see a green button that says: Netflix | God Mode.
Drag that button to your bookmarks or Favourites Bar.
You then log back into Netflix and at the top of the screen you will see the ‘God Mode’ button, click it and the page instantly refreshes.
You will not be able to do this on a tablet or on a TV or set top box, only on a PC.
The list of movies and TV shows is extensive and my recommendation is that consumers cancel their overall Foxtel service and then resign up for what you actually want.
For example a combination of the top end Netflix package at $14.95 gives you access to over 1100 movies and TV shows including the likes of Marco Polo, Orange is The New Black, House Of Cards and a vast amount of British Shows such as Luther or Downton Abby.
Combine this with the new Foxtel Sport + Entertainment Combo for $50 and you have a total outlay of around $65 Vs over $150 with Foxtel.
With Netflix you don’t charged $14 to get Full HD content, it is already built into their low cost monthly subscription. Nor do you have to pay a separate fee for a set top box to be installed.
You simple turn on a Sony, Panasonic, LG or Samsung TV, or a Fetch TV box, a PS4 or Xbox console or go to your browser on a PC or via the Netflix app on a tablet and log on.
Today is all about the arrival of competition and the taking of a big stick to an operator who has used their owner’s financial and political muscle to maintain a monopoly for decades in Australia.
The arrival of Netflix is also all about flexibility and getting access to low cost content from an operator who is prepared to invest in ease of use and the delivery of an interface that is designed to deliver a good customer experience.
Gone are the days of big bills and $4.00 movies via Foxtel.
